A Solo Piano Tribute to The Beatles - Arranged and Performed by Cole Broderick

Composer-pianist Cole Broderick is busy laying down tracks for his eighth CD that includes more than just a few jazzy notes from the village.

In fact, Broderick whose four-part Seasons of Saratoga collection garnered a Critic’s Choice citation from Billboard a decade ago – wrote all of the arrangements for his latest, and possibly greatest, recording in a soundproof room on Malta Avenue. The CD is being recorded and mixed at Sean Flynn’s Spirit 11 Studio on Saratoga Lake.

Slated for release in time for summer enjoyment, Cole Broderick’s Tribute to The Beatles will feature original solo piano arrangements of such hits as Penny Lane, In My Life, Can’t Buy Me Love, Come Together, Eleanor Rigby and Love Me Do. A ninth CD featuring additional solo piano arrangements of some all-time favorite hits by The Beatles will be released by 2011. Two more parts will follow, culminating with the eventual release of a four-CD collection.

An earlier CD by Broderick was In A Dream which featured original solo piano compositions inspired by Francis auprich and the late Jennifer Danison, both of Ballston Spa. Indeed the high-powered improvisation piece Francis Fudge and the ballad Jenny won praise from national reviewers.

Passionate about the piano from the moment he began studying the instrument at age seven, Broderick subsequently studied arranging and composition with Jerry Coker and Clifton Williams at the University of Miami and made campus history when he incorporated jazz with his classical performance in the senior recital.

Greatly influenced in his college years by Oscar Peterson and Andre Previn, Broderick went on to receive impressive offers following his graduation with a degree in music. He opted instead to party, playing in bars and clubs between Fort Lauderdale and Lake Placid to support himself.

The artist's lifestyle finally caught up with him, and in 1980, he resolved to make a fresh start. Returning to his Capital Region roots, Broderick winterized a rustic log cabin that his late father built on the shores of Saratoga Lake in the 1930s and set about the business of getting his career back on track. After forming the Cole Broderick Quartet in 1992, Broderick recorded a demo tape of some of his original compositions and sent it to Festival Productions. The following year, his ensemble was booked to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Energized by the experience, Broderick recorded what would be the first in a collection of CDs celebrating the glorious Seasons of Saratoga. The flurry of publicity that surrounded the Billboard Critic’s Choice award that followed led to the playing of Broderick’s music on radio stations across the USA, Canada and parts of Europe.

A regular entertainment fixture at Chez Sophie in Saratoga Springs, Broderick has also dazzled fans at festivals, private parties and corporate events as well as participating in enrichment programs sponsored by Arts In Education, The Eddy and a host of other assisted living centers. Music appreciation, he observes, knows no age barriers.

For more information, please call 518.885.3214.